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Request for a New forum : Legalisation of Electric Unicycles


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Good luck! You must have read about what happened in Singapore. HK is so crowded, probably 3x or 4x more crowded than Singapore. The minute you have someone get run over by EUCs or vice versa, you might just have an outcome like Singapore -- BAN!!! Outside of the city may be a possible proposition. I know in China mainland like Shanghai and Guangzhou banned them too. But people still ride them, especially outside of the city. Here in San Francisco, we are and are not allowed because there is a lack of legislations for or against them. Of course, we are more spacious here than in HK. So far, I don't have any policeman bothering me for our city believes in going green, that's the future. We have an extremely strong bicyclist base. The city is completely pro any kind of electric mode of transportation to reduce negative environmental impact. Again, good luck, it is an uphill battle!

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5 hours ago, scubadragosan said:

e. The minute you have someone get run over by EUCs or vice versa, you might just have an outcome like Singapore -- BAN!!

Which is too bad really because if you replaced all the cars with PEVd there would be more space and less jams.

(edit: sorry for the half off topic, I thought we where in the "what does it take" thread)

Edited by null
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58 minutes ago, null said:

Which is too bad really because if you replaced all the cars with PEVd there would be more space and less jams.

or more people standing around in packs on the street, looking like Star Wars 3 battle about to begin. Replacing cars with pev is more a pipe dream than eutopia is, here in USA. Half my friends wouldnt even try to ride this "death machine", and they aint old or crippled. No A/c on an euc and rain sucks. :)

Edited by ShanesPlanet
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I would second this request. 

In the US, I understand it’s a gray area, and state and national legalization might be tough, but it would probably not be hard to get local city councils to pass this sort of thing with a little bit of pressure. EUCs don’t really pose a serious threat to any entrenched political power structures and city councils like passing things that make them seem like they are green. It’s low hanging fruit for them. 

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Here in Nashville Tennessee I see police all the time on 30 mph roads and on the side walk on 45 mph roads as well as downtown Nashville proper and I have never had any problems with the law. I did get pulled over in a neighborhood once for running a stop sign, but he was cool about it and really just wanted to talk about the wheel. I kind of like being in a gray area as I may have more freedom than legalization with restrictions. I know legislation will probably eventually come, when it does I hope it is positive legislation.

Being responsible is the biggest thing that can help our cause. I feel wearing a helmet, safety gear, and a high-vis motorcycle jacket not helps protect me; it helps keep the law off my back. I even wear bicycle turn signals. Amazon.com : ECEEN LED Flashing Vest and Cycling Stop Light - Double Visible Front and Rear Jacket - Cordless and Rechargeable - Ideal for Bikes and Electric Scooters - Adaptable to Backpack (Green) : Sports & Outdoors

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9 hours ago, scubadragosan said:

Good luck! You must have read about what happened in Singapore. HK is so crowded, probably 3x or 4x more crowded than Singapore. The minute you have someone get run over by EUCs or vice versa, you might just have an outcome like Singapore -- BAN!!! Outside of the city may be a possible proposition. I know in China mainland like Shanghai and Guangzhou banned them too. But people still ride them, especially outside of the city. Here in San Francisco, we are and are not allowed because there is a lack of legislations for or against them. Of course, we are more spacious here than in HK. So far, I don't have any policeman bothering me for our city believes in going green, that's the future. We have an extremely strong bicyclist base. The city is completely pro any kind of electric mode of transportation to reduce negative environmental impact. Again, good luck, it is an uphill battle!

what a defetist attitude... "Oh it will never work"

Luck serves us of nothing if no work is done... the only one that knows about unicycles is the people riding them.... not the regulators who we have to educate.

Your information about singapore is wrong, and actually the total disaster is due to the regulators not the riders. I think Coventry did a free for all also, and had to pull the plug on it on days... so lets learn from mistakes and not repeat them... Again the people who died were either hit by scooters or on scooters.

In HK electronic/magnetic propelled vehicles and single wheel vehicles are not covered by road or road insurance ordinance. The police can arrest you, confiscate your wheel but can't prosecute you, despite all the crap you read on the news....  Unicycles can't be a free for all and I am in favour of what the police do until there is a proper training, testing and licensing frame work....

BTW I ride in the crowds in HK at Lunch time, in all the business districts. I merge into the crowds and ride at sometimes sub 3km without issues.... NONE. Most peop don't even notice I am wheel. I don't make people react or get out of the way or anything. As soon as there is an area for me to ride fast/safe without impact, I go for it... Every day I set an example and I show people that unicycles can easily be on congested pavements and nothing happens.

Edited by OneLeg
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I am looking forward to riding the wheel in a HK crowd without being noticed...and I am so good that I can zigzag through them at 20kph!

Edited by scubadragosan
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On 6/5/2021 at 1:48 AM, scubadragosan said:

I am looking forward to riding the wheel in a HK crowd without being noticed...and I am so good that I can zigzag through them at 20kph!

zig-zagging until you can't zig-zag and someone has to avoid you or you hit them.... Unfortunately we don't have the luxury, even the day they are legal, to Ride without Reasonable Consideration Towards pedestrians. That term will become massively important on the legalisation of unicycles and it will be one of the infractions that will support the legal frame work.

Zig-zagging is not a skill it to merge into the crowd and have zero impact. That requires very serious cognitive to calculate, speed trajectory of the people around you, determine whether you can change your direction and speed without impacting those around you or coming towards you... When you can do that, and the number of times you impacted a pedestrian is zero day after day, then my friend you can can say "I can ride".

In my rides, in crossings where people are crossing the 4 pavement directly and diagonally you sometimes have to track up to 8 people that are likely to collide into if your timing and speed is wrong.,  You have calculate whether you can change speed or direction, or whether you should slow down, tail another pedestrian closely or even stop as you are not able to have a "successful resolution/exit" to what is moving around you. 

I actually should get a body cam and record what I do, I see this as crucial training and part of the licensing test in the future.

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yeah maybe in your mind, until someone riding behind you records how you ride and you see the trail of people that you have impacted you left behind.... The fact you are talking at such high speeds of 20km/hr you don't understand. You can't zig-zag at that speed, your should not be within 3 meters of a pedestrian if you are riding at the speed. If you want to zigzag, maybe top 7km/hr...

I took a video the other night where I found myself between 100 joggers, and they were going at a good pace, the few at  at the front were doing about 17km/hr but where the vast majority were doing about 12km/hr.. (bell curve distribution). To be between them,  a good part of required for me to ride at their speed until I could see openings and not impact anyone... or the optimal, take the longer path, and move away from the pack and out accelerate everyone.

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